Shutter-locking mechanism for voting-machines.



No. 824,350. 'PTENTED JUNE 26, 1906.

W. I. T. FOSDIQK.' SHUTTBR LOCKING MBGHANISM FR VOTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18,190@

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WTNESSES INVEIR 'ATTORNEY i UNITED STATES PATENT oiEEICE.

WILLIAM I. T. EosDICK, CE BRIDCEPCRT, CONNECTICUT, AssIGNoR To TRIUMPH 'VOTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF' PITTSFIELD, MASSACHU- '.SETTS,Ay CORPORATION-v OF NEW JERSEY.

sHuTTE-np-Loc/KING. MEoHAmsM Fon vo'rlrae-'nancialNissa.`

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 26, 1906.

To all whom t may concern."

Be. it known'l that I', WILLIAM I. T. Fos- DICK, -.a citizen of :the-United States, residin at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State o Connecticut, have invented anew and useful Shutter-Locking Mechanism for Voting-Maf chines, of whichthe following is a. specifica-y tion.

This invention relates to that portion of the mechanism of voting-machines which enables an independent voter to cast hsvote for candidatas of his own selection for any or all of the offices to be voted for wholly inde'- which is wound upon a roller as fast as it is pendently of party nominations. Independent voting is performed bywriting the names of persons for Whom the voter desires to castv a vote upon van independent-voting sheet used. Voting-apertures to which the independent-votin sheet lies contiguous are normally closed y shutters, each of which when opened discloses sufficient of the voting-sheet to -permit a single vote to be written thereon. After voting, the voter operates mechanism, which I shall simply refer to as,operat` mechanism, which by means of interme ate connections moves the o ened shutters to the closed position, where t ey are retained until opened by the next inde endent voter.

T e invention consists in certain constructions and in certain parts, improvements, and combinations, substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

With this object in view I have devised the novel mechanism ofwhich the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, 'is a specification, similar reference characters being used in the several figures to indicate the parts.l l

Fi e 1 is a detail rear elevation of my l nove mechanism, showing the position of the parts when the shutters are in the closed osition; 2, a longitudinal section'on the ne 2 2 in ig. 1; Fig. 3, adetail rear yelevation illustrating the position of the parts when a shutter is in-the o ened position; and Fig. 4 is a detail seotiona view on the line 4 4 in 3, illustratin the operation of the latches which are in t e lookin position.

10 denotes the facefplate o? the machine, which is provided with a vertical aperture 1 1. Back ofvthis aperture are superposed plates 12, whose edges lie in contact with each other. These plates are in practice movable longitudinally, but for the ose of group voting tml only, which will not e ascribed, as it forms no portion of the resent invention, for the purpose of which lates 12 may beconsidered asI stationary. Each plate 12 is provided with a votin aperture 13, back of which is a sliding s utter 14, each shutter being provided with a finger piece extending through the voting-aperture for convenience inmanipulation. The shutters reciprocate in ways 16 on the backs of plates 12 and are provided with forwardly-extending arms 17, ying slightlybelow the corresponding votingapertures, eac l arm being provided with a locking-pin 18.

19 denotes bell-crank levers ivoted to plates 12-,as at 22., each bell-crank ever comprisin arms20 and 21.

23 enotes long links which are in practice vthe end links of controlling-chains (not shown) which control the regular-voting levers of the machine. (Likewise not shown.)

Each long link is pivoted to the arm 20 of the corresponding bell-crank lever and is provided on its under side with a locking-notch 24, lwhich is ada ted to be enga ed by the forward end of a latch 25. These atches are pivoted between vertical plates 26 and operate by gravity, their rear ends being made heavier, so as to insure that the forward ends will enter the locking-notches the instant the notches are moved into engaging position. The vertical lates are also provi ed with ways 27, whic serve yas guides for the long links. .(See Fig. 4.)'

28 denotes a vertical slide which is adapted.-

'When the operating mechanism, which is.

not illustrated or described, as it forms no portion of the present invention, is operated, the slide is movedu Ward, causing t 1e lower sides ofthe walls o? apertures 29 to en ge the rearends of the latches and move t em upward,r thereby disengaging the forward ends of the latches from the locking-notches anddeaving 'the long links unlocked and ready for ordinary'voting.

l locking-pins upon the shutter-arms.v When .I5V

. "en aged by thecorresponding latch, which.

the voter has'passed out and has operated the nections (not shown) operatesH the' slautt'erf closing racks and also the vertical slide which pinions32, which engage Vthe shutter-closing racks and also engage a vertical rack 355;4

' The arms 21- of the bell-crank levers are provided with oblique downwardly-inclined #slots 30, which are adapted to receive. the

locking-pins on the corresponding 'shutter-l arms and retain the shutter'sin the closed pooiitward into osition to permitl regular'lvoting. /Both` t e. upper 'and lowerV inclined walls of the'slots serve as' cams to .oscilliate thebell-crank levers when engaged bythe a shutter is moved fromthe closed position,

as in Figs. l and 2, to the o en position, as in; Fig, 3, for the purpose o'v castin an independent vote,v the locking-pin on t e shutter wilride up the lower inclined wall of the slot, which 'oscillates the bell-'crank lever downward and moves the long link inward ,placing the locking-notch therein position -to be loc s the link and renders it impossible Y to vote for a vregular nominee for that olice until operating. mechanism," The* shutters are moved .to -theclosed position 'by means of'shutter-closing racks 31,

'which 'are shown as operated by means'of which is operated by the operatinghmechan-l ism, As a shutter approaches t position the locking-pin on the shutter-arm' passes into the slot 30 the corresponding ell-cranklever'and engages theupperdowny Wardly-inclined Wall of. said slot and' as'it moves forward! tilts lthe bell-.crank leverup- 4 links of course taking p ace before the lock- .ward and. returns'it toits normal position. Simultaneously with the movement of the shutter-closin rack vertical slide 28 is moved .upward by .t e operating mechanism and acts to disengage any engaged latches from the locking-notches in the long links, leaving the latter unlocked, this disengagement ofthe latches from the vlookin -notches in the long ing-pins on lthe corresponding shutter-arms pass into the slots in the bell-crank levers.

34 denotes a stop-pin which is en aged by arm 20 to limit the downward. oscillation of lthe bell-crank'lever, and 35 denotes ast'o pin which is engaged .by arm 2l of the bellcrank lever toglimit the upward movement `of said lever in returning to itsnormal position.

Thev operation 'isf briey as follows: The shutters are normally closed, thelockingpins'on the shutter-arms in engagementlwith the-inner ends of the slots in the bell-crank levers, and .the long links moved outwardfthat is, toward the right-as iii Fig. v1, to permit regular votin f Should a voter desire to vote independent y for any ofice, heimove's.

the shutter corresponding with that oice to4 v e 'closed 'saae'so the open position-that-is, toward the left- .-va as "shown in the drawings", thereby disclosing through the corresponding voting-'aperture .3, portion of the'vsur'fa'ce of the indeplendent- :voting sheet, upon 'Whiclrhe writes v The movement of the lshutter .to the' Aopen po,

sition oscillates the bell-crank lever", 4as a1-y readyeXplained, and draws the long `linkin-'- ward, in which position it is locked by the en-.-

gagement of .a latch Withfthe locking-notch therein and can only be unlocked by the Olperation ofthe operatingmechanisrn alter t ie voter hasfcompleted the voting operations Should the'voterhave previously'votedv for .a re ular'noininee'for the same. office, that vote wi l be unvoted .that`is`,nulliiiedbythe inward movement of lthe longlink: .As this Aportion of the mechanism'fprms no portion.

of lthe-.present invention, it is notjillustrated 8 5v or describedh but merely, mentioned to sho-w thatitA is impossible to cast a regularfa-ndfin- Vdependent vote for the same 'or for'bdiere'ntf persons for vthe same olice. Y Havingcoin'- pl'eted the'operation of lvoting, the-voter,

must operate the operating: mechanism in' passing out .which through intermediate convoted `'regularlyi--thatl is, not have opened 95 i `any ef the independent-voting shutters-no -fu'nctionwhatever would be perfermedby.

the 'operation of the shutter-closing racks and verticalslide. f-It mayf-be mentioned incidentally vthat plates 12 whicl'i',^ so far as the present. invenicoA tion is' concerned, remain stationary,- aref y provided attheir left ends, as .seen Fi .'1, with double racks 36, by means of .Whicht ey `Aare-adaptedto be reciprocated-in group voting, which is not described, ascit forms no portion of the present invention.

Havingjthus described my invefjo, I

1.- Inafinechanism ofthecharacter (1e- ITO scribed, the combination with asliding shutter having engaging means, a link and a latch.

for-locking said link when moved inward',` of

a bell-crank lever to which said link is ivot;v

the combination with a sliding shutter having a locking-pin, a link andmeans for 'lock- -ing'said link when drawn inward, of a bellcrank lever to which said link is pivote'd and which isprovided withl a 'downwardly-in'- clined oblique slot,- the parts. being soconstructedand arranged thatwirfen the shutter is opened the lockingpin'willridenp l'the lower wall of the slot in the'bell-cranklever' and will oscillate said lever and' draw the link inward, and' when .the shutter is returned to he Closed Position' th OGkg-piiwill'ride fig-o slot adapted to be engaged by the lockingpin, substantially as described, for the purpose s ecified.

4. n an independent-voting mechanism,

the combination with a sliding shutter and a link, of a bell-crank lever to which said link is pivoted and engaging means on the shut ter and bell-crank lever acting to osoillate said lever in both directions and reciprocate the link.

5. In' an independent-voting mechamsm 4the combination with a sliding'sliutter and a` link, of a bell-crank lever to which said link is iivoted, lengaging means on the shutter an bell-crank lever, for the purpose set forth, .andstop-pinsV for limiting the oscillation of the lever in either direction.

In testimony whereof I aiiix mv signature in presence of two Witnesses. ,'WILLIAM I. vT. FOSDIUK Witnesses:

A. M. Woos'rnR, S. W.ATHERTON. 

